Zero Gravity
by badbadbadbad
Summary: DISCONTINUED DISCONTINUED!The second angel experiment. Zero, Twist, Clover, Sliver, Cove. Those are the new kids. Maybe see some of the first flock Max, Fang, Iggy, etc. Later on. Erasers have changed. You'll see how if you read!
1. Tattoo

**Hey, people. Well, this is my first ever FanFiction! Yippee! (Or however you spell that.) I will admit, I'm not a Maximum Ride scholar, but I'll try my best (I am a TWI scholar, though! ;)). So. These are all my characters, I own them, but (and here's the important part:)**_**I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE.**_**So yeah. Let's get a move on wit da story, shall we? (I hate the paperclip.)**

Oh, goodie.

Another day in the lab. The cages. The men and women in white coats, poking and prodding, totally invading my personal space. But get this: They didn't have wings. Weird, right?

I was lying in my too-small cage with iron bars. My black and white-streaked wings were pressed against my back. I was staring at the "0000" on my wrist. It was the same number on my prison that was tattooed on my wrist in navy blue ink. That's what I named myself. Zero. That's me. Suddenly some whitecoats grabbed me out, yanking my arm just about out of its socket. "Um, ow," I mumbled. They didn't seem to notice as they put me on the cold metal table that I had to stand up on. They made me unfurl my wings, and got upset with me if I said I couldn't do it because it hurt too much. So upset they would zap me with a hot rod in between my shoulder blades, forcing me to spread them out.

"Fourteen feet!" One of the more ugly and mean women cried. "That's absolutely amazing!" One of the male whitecoats retracted the measuring tape. "It is about done growing, though." They always referred to me as an 'it'. Usually I would feel a flare of anger blowing up inside me, but today I felt so beaten down and tired that I didn't even care. According to the other winged kid in the cage across from me, I had a bad temper. His name is Sliver. He has silver wings and grey eyes, and dark brown hair. Out of all the other bird kids, he pissed me off the most. Then there was Twist. I guess you could call her my best friend. She had pale blond hair and pale green eyes, and snowy white skin that matched her creamy wings. Everything about Twist is pale. She is kind-hearted and sweet, and doesn't deserve her permanently twisted ankle. That makes it hard for her to walk.

As the whitecoats dropped me in the cage, I saw Clover being taken out. Clover has black hair like mine and deep green eyes, which earn her name. She's only 7 years old, but seems wise and has a knowing smile. Clover gave me her famous smile and let herself be taken away, her 10-foot wingspan of black feathers dragging behind her. I sat down in my cage, right onto a piece of rotten fruit. "Ugh, Cove!" I growled. Cove was the ultimate prankster. He was ten with a crooked grin and tan colored wings. I heard muffled laughter from where he was two cages down from me, with Twist in between. "Thanks for that." I muttered, shoving it out of my space.

I heard two whitecoats coming down the hall with my enhanced ears. "The second experiment turned out much better," one crowed. I raised my eyebrows and listened closer, motioning for Sliver and Twist to do so also. "Ssshhh, you fool." One sneered, "Stage two is yet to start." Second experiment? What the hell was stage two? I frowned and looked to Twist. "I dunno," she mouthed.

****

A few hours later, and I had dozed off into a surprisingly peaceful sleep. But I woke up to an Eraser rattling my cage bars. I cried out and skittered to the back of my cage. One of the nicer whitecoats had told me that once the Erasers had once been half-WOLF half human. But now they were half-LIZARD. If you ask me, wolves would have been prettier than these ugly ducklings. They had forked tongues and pointed teeth, their eyes looking like they were open when really they were closed. They had patches of scales here and there, and had an unpleasant odor of rotten flesh from their last meal. And that was in their normal form. Apparently the whitecoats were still working on the genetic code, so they couldn't go out in the real world without wearing large parkas and ski masks. The Eraser hissed out a twisted laugh. "It's fun to scare you freaks." With that he walked away. _Us, the freaks?_ _Not compared to YOU, mister._ _Have fun in Hell!_ Innumerable comebacks buzzed in my mind as the mutant walked away. But I was too scared to say them out loud. I would never say them. Not when I was helpless like this.

**So what do you think? Should I keep writing? Review, mah peoples! Peace, love sausage.**


	2. Not Anymore

**Wassup my partay peoples? Well, thanks reviewers! Second chapter comin' up! Now the story REALLY starts! Hooray!**

Wow. I had the worst start to my day. Ever. Two Erasers dragged me out by my ankles, leaving my head to bump along on the hard floor. Twist yawned for a short time before getting jolted awake by two more of the lizard hybrids, crying out. "What do you think you're doing?!" I heard Sliver stand up in his cage, banging his head against the top in the process. An Eraser hissed and lunged forward, grabbing him out as well. His silver eyes flashed and he whacked his wing at the mutant's head.

Now, that might not seem like that big a deal, but when you're slammed in the head by sheer muscle and tough bone going 70 miles per hour, you'd put up a fuss too. And if you had the short temper of an Eraser, your little tantrum might involve killing someone.

The Eraser hissed like a steam valve and struck Sliver across the face with his clawed hand. Sliver winced but managed to shoot up into the air, banging the ceiling. His concentrated face didn't show any emotion, but I knew he was ecstatic at flying at last. Twist watched in awe but took advantage of that moment to break free of the stupidly stunned Eraser that was holding her. They made the Erasers stronger, but stupider. Twist wind-milled her hand around, catching the big lug in the face. I myself tried to break free of the iron grasp on my arms, failing. But Sliver dove down quickly, landing on the Eraser's head. The lizard thing grunted and momentarily let go of me. Twist called out: "Key!" I knew instantly what her plan was. I nodded but was pinned down by a big black boot. When I landed the breath was knocked out of me, and I saw spots. I only had once choice: Die or Fly.

I gasped in pain as I unfurled my wings. How did Sliver do it without having a seizure of pain? They flapped powerfully, toppling over the Eraser who had his foot on my chest. I couldn't help a little "Haha, suckers!" before diving down, snatching the keys to the cage from an incoming whitecoat's belt, and tossing them to Twist. The pale blond girl unlocked Cove's cage without hesitation. Cove burst out, his sandy wings unfurling quickly like he'd been born to fly. He landed a flying kick in an Eraser's chest, snickering as he did so. I couldn't resist a little smile. Then an alarm went off, making me loose my cool. Well…I didn't have any cool, but…it made me panic. Let's put it that way.

I shouted and smashed the red light that made a blaring sound with my strong wing, pulling the black and white streaked appendage away quickly when the ex-alarm sparked. The spark fell on the floor, into a puddle made from dripping pipes. I knew enough to know what would come next.

Aw, shiz.

*****

The fire came faster than I could blink. "Eaohglurg!" I screamed, not really knowing what it meant. Just an exclamation of the moment, I guess. Sliver shouted and plummeted to the ground. Twist shrieked and dropped the keys she had been fumbling with to unlock Clover's cage. A lump grew in my throat. Clover. Ignoring the singing fire, I grabbed the keys and shoved them in the lock, twisting and turning until it opened. The Erasers and whitecoats were busy putting out the fire I had started. Clover jumped out, her scrawny little wings making a slight ripping sound as they unfurled. Twist beat her wings and grabbed Cove away from incoming Erasers. Sliver was right behind me and Clover, his dark brown hair matted and slightly singed. We all nodded at each other once, a slow devious smile spreading across our faces. We shot up as fast as our wings would carry us, crashing through the roof without much effort. Soaring up into the sky, I whooped with joy. Cove stuck his tongue out at the School before throwing something down at it. He looked at me with his large hazel eyes, wondering if I would disapprove. I just gave him a wicked smile. "Nice." He grinned. All the kid wanted was praise. Sliver and Twist flew on either side of me, trying out gliding and more powerful strokes. "Zero…how exactly did that fire start?" Twist looked at me, raising an almost invisible eyebrow. "Um…a spark and a puddle of water." I shrugged. My stupid hair was getting in my face, black wisps flying everywhere. Clover flew in right behind me, her jet black wings fluttering like a hummingbird's. Her green eyes locked into my blue ones. I nodded to her once. That seemed to give her a burst of strength. My little Clover literally _never_ spoke. At least, I've never heard her talk. She didn't really like it when people talked to her, either. Well, no one except Sliver. They had a bond, those two. He would talk to her softly, and she'd just stare ahead and listen, not looking like she was listening. But I knew she was. Cove smiled evily. "Dude, we totally _killed_ those mutant freaks! I was all, _ka-pow !_, and Zero was like _boom!_ And Sliver, you were all _slam!_" I laughed, and Sliver and Twist smiled. Clover said nothing. Cove always made us laugh, whether it was an _I'll-kill-you-in-your-sleep-and-eat-your-liver _laugh or an actual one. I took one last look at the burning School, hunched over in the snowy mountains._ You can't hurt us now, School._

Not anymore.

**Or so she thinks…MUAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!! And so the plot thickens. Stay tuned for chapter 3!!!**


	3. The Lost Ones

**Wut up.**

**So I'm sorry I havn't made a chapter in a while, but I'm busy with school and such. So here it goes! **

So. The plan.

Step uno: Get the hell away from the School. Step 2….I'll think of it later.

We were flying along, Cove trying to bet Sliver he couldn't swoop down and get that penny that he had just threw. "You cannot!" Cove said. "Uh, yeah I can." Sliver rolled his eyes. Cove stuck out his tongue. "Wow." Sliver said sarcastically. I shook my head at them, and they quit arguing. Twist was flying along side me, a frown on her face. I knew what she was thinking of. Well, make that _who._

My pale little friend was thinking of Saffy and Hedgehog, the two bird kids that had been taken away and we had never seen them again. Saffy was a sweet girl of nine, with huge sapphire-blue eyes and long red hair. Hedgehog was a little boy who was around 8 (he always protested he was "8 _and a half"_) with spiky brown hair, earning him his name. He and Clover had seemed to get along before they had taken him, along with Saffy.

I sighed deeply, my black and white wings pumping without me even thinking about it. I felt a little tug on my ankle. I knew that touch. "Yeah, Clover?" I asked softly, slowing my strokes so she could catch up to me. Her big, deep green eyes were wide as she motioned down to a cluster of lights that were bright in the dark sky. I felt my heart twinge with sympathy. "Ok." I angled my wings so I lost altitude quickly. "Zero? What're we doin'?" I heard Cove ask as he immediately followed me, his sandy wings swooping. "We're gonna find a place to sleep, that's what." He frowned but nodded. With a wicked grin he folded his wings and dropped down below, whooping in excitement. Sliver shot me a look before following him, a small grin on his face. I turned to see Clover, my delicate little baby, diving down also, pirouetting gracefully in the air like a ballerina. I sighed and, looking at Twist, also folded my wings in tight, heading down headfirst.

I'm looking for a 7-letter word to describe flying. How about…._Awesome?_

The wind whipped at my face, my pitch-black hair flying around me like vine tendrils. I laughed as I spiraled downward. I closed my eyes, enjoying the thrill of the moment. Then I realized I might be hitting the ground soon. My blue eyes snapped open, and I flapped a couple of times to land in a dark parking lot. Hmm. Sketchy. Cove and Sliver had already landed, and had already gotten into a fight. "Guys, guys…" I said, playing peacemaker. Clover and Twist landed, Twist having to grab a car for support as her permanently twisted ankle gave her trouble with the sudden strain. Clover hugged her gently. Cove glared at both me and Sliver. "Dude. Seriously. There is no _way_ that there could be a cross between an antelope and a crocodile. The crock would eat the freakin' antelope before they even…" I made a hushing gesture. Sliver stifled a laugh. Cove shot him the bird. I rolled my eyes. "Ok. Enough." I turned to Twist and Clover, who were leaning against a nice-looking yellow Porsche. "People, scan your surroundings." We had learned to be cautionary after spending our whole lives at the School. I checked out the west side of the parking lot. Eh. Dirty. Cold. Wide open spaces. Not exactly the ideal place. "Let's get outta here…" Twist hissed, obviously hearing something. I made the gesture for "hit the ground" and we all did. I myself hid behind a garbage can, being the dignified person I am. A bunch of rough-looking guys came in, jumping the wire fence and laughing like idiots. They hung out for a while, then _finally_ left. I gave an "all-clear" sign after waiting a few minutes. Cove came out from under a car, groaning. "Ugh. There was an oil spill right above me." Clover grimaced as she wrung out her plain white t-shirt, some water on it. "I had to hid behind a garbage can, don't complain." I grumbled, heading out. "This way." I motioned to the right, pretending I knew what I was doing. I think Sliver knew I had no idea. "Go this way." He said casually, heading left and over to an empty restaurant. Locked, of course. But hey, he could pick any lock. As long as he had something to pick it with. "Here." Twist flicked him a bobby pin from her hair. The whitecoats at the School always made us keep our hair up, so we had plenty of those. I was a bit peeved that everyone followed Sliver without thinking twice, when I was the oldest, I could fly the best, I was basically the unofficial leader. But just because he was Sliver, they followed him.

I stood off to the side, my hands shoved into my baggy, Goodwill jeans. Clover was playing with a puddle. That kid can keep herself amused with a freakin' spoon for seven hours. "Ta-daa." The door swung open, and Sliver gave a wide gesture to the inside. Cove would have smiled except for the fact that he was in a bad mood. I think all of us were.


	4. It's called a Metaphor

**Hey. Sup? Thanks muchies for ze reviews! Keep em' up! Fourth chapter, here we go. Sorry its short. I wanted to update but I'm too tired to write a really long one.**

Pizza place. Dark, empty, janitors closet.

Perfect.

I went in first, just to make sure it was safe. I waved for Sliver to follow. Before I knew it he was next to me, scouting out the closet where we would sleep. Cove, Twist and Clover soon followed, Twist limping, Cove scowling, and Clover's eye's glowing.

Did I mention she had night vision? I mean, we all did, but hers was the best. I had heard the whitecoats mentioning something about how the first time they had tried this it ended up with the subject loosing their sight. I was so glad it didn't happen to Clover. "Here." I whispered, motioning to the closet. "C'mon." Cove picked his way through. "Are you sure this is sanitary?" He grimaced as he smelled the chemicals. I rolled my eyes. "Uh, yeah."

Suddenly I heard a shriek coming from Twist. I leapt out. "What the…" Sliver muttered as he tried to get through, his sliver wings still not completely folded in. Twist was backing up. "Who are you?" She asked, her voice ringing out clearly even though she was scared and shaking. Clover stood behind her, her black wings flung out.

I saw a flash of bright red. Someone's hair.

Saffy.

Saffy. Saffy. My heartbeat sped up. I knew that color anywhere. She had been taken away earlier this year. Nine years old. Still beautiful. Behind her was Hedgehog. "Lemme see em'!" He shouted in his always loud voice. Then Saffy's eyes set on me. "Zero?" "Saffy?" We both asked at the same time. Her bright blue eyes lit up, her orange wings bursting out, unfolded completely. "Guys! It's me and Hedgehog!" Hedgy (as we liked to call him) ducked under her and grinned. "Cove! Sliver! Zero! Clover! Twist!" He hugged us all, Saffy bouncing up and down. "They took us! Far away, then dropped us off in the forest! We made our way to the city, and...and…we stayed her for as long as possible, surviving! And then we met you!" She squealed, embracing all of us. Sliver sighed through his nose, and I almost laughed out loud. He hated these kinds of huggy-huggy things. I, for one, was overjoyed to have them back. Cove just smiled, Clover having her usual solemn look on. But I knew she was happy. Twist still looked a bit shaken and stunned, but hugged them all. Hedgy's face was spilt ear to ear from smiling too much. Metaphorically, of course.


End file.
